Gamu’s eyes sharpened as he stared at the back of Kubali’s head. “What did she say?”
“Something about me having another nightmare...and she was trying to ease my tension.” Kubali glanced back at Gamu. “Have you ever heard such things?”
Gamu quickly lowered his gaze, his expression carefully neutral. “Only from mothers soothing their cubs...I daresay it’s nothing, my friend.” He smiled ingratiatingly. “She was probably half-asleep herself and dreaming of cubs.”
Kubali nodded absently, his gaze returning to the lioness who was making her way back towards them. “You’re probably right.”
“I always am.” Gamu grinned oddly. “Excuse me.”
As the following days progressed, Elanna began to show the outward signs of a lioness entering her receptive period, and Kubali accepted Gamu’s idea that her idiosyncrasies were just another symptom of that special time which all lionesses experience when their bodies yearn for cubs. Eventually the subtleties grew more and more obvious, and the two males spent their days pacing agitatedly about, growing snappish and irritable.
Elanna felt guilty about the effects of her heat upon her friend, although she was not responsible for it. Anxious to avoid a confrontation between the two males, she persuaded Kubali that it would be best if they separated temporarily, since a nearby kopje provided adequate shelter and an excellent vantage point from which to scout for prey.
“Good idea,” he said, relieved. “I’ll sleep up top on the rocks, and you can stay inside that little cave in the side until it passes. Okay?”
“Okay.” She nuzzled him chastely and stepped away quickly, curling up inside her temporary abode and tucking tail beneath her.
Kubali ascended the rocks and lay down at the top, sighing uncomfortably as he fought to shove away the memory of the quick lick on his cheek she had given him. “Easy, boy, nothing but trouble there.” He watched absently as the herds moved slowly across the landscape, noting the dark shadows that chased each other across the ground. A heavy rumbling filled the air, and his nose twitched as the thick smell of approaching rain hit him.
“Oh, great,” he muttered.
Elanna settled down in a corner of the cave and closed her eyes. She felt lonely and a little depressed. The soft warmth of Kubali next to her had been a comfort she had learned to rely on. She rolled over and reached out her paw to put it on his shoulder, only he was not there. It was the worst time to be alone, and it took her a while to fall asleep.
Elanna’s nights had been full of bad dreams. She had a morbid fascination with the last moments of her husband, and had experienced them many different ways in her troubled nights. For a change the insistant yearnings in her body changed the course of her slumber.
“Lannie?”
“Yes, Taka?” She rolled on her back, gazing up at her husband that loomed over her with that hungry cub look on his face. “Did you want something?”
Silently, fervantly, he reached down and nuzzled her face, then kissed her throat right above her throbbing pulse. Passionately, he took his paw and rubbed her chest, then passed his paw down to fondle her sensitive belly, awakening sensations in her that made her shiver. He touched the paw to his nose, closed his eyes, and inhaled. “Oh gods,” he stammered. “I’m on fire! Crouch for me, Lannie. I want to make love to you all night.”
She reached up with a paw and fondled his chest mane. “Give me a moment, darling. Let me get ready.”
Elanna lay on the ground in the throes of her romantic dream. Her paws twiched and her jaw trembled. A thin, high moan escaped her lips.
Suddenly an earsplitting crack sundered the air. Elanna’s eyes popped open. She was alone. Once again, Taka was dead and the remnants of her dream were washed away in the downpour. Lightning flashed again. The world outside her cave was cold and miserable, and she thanked Aiheu for the shelter as the rain descended in solid sheets.
The drops fell on the dry earth, splashing in small crowns of splendor. After the plunge to earth, the small sprites sought out their friends, joining to form small trickles that merged into rivulets seeking sanctuary from the strange, hard soil. Some clung to stems of grass, turning them to gemmed scepters that swayed in the wind. Lightning lit the sky with infinite diamonds of brilliant lustre.
A hornbill began to bail water from her nest, her chicks shivering and wet. Lightning framed a couple of meerkat sentries that ducked quickly into their holes. Water ran unchecked into a gopher hole, and the agitated resident came out, looking about in the wet darkness. Nearby a badger slept safely, a drain passage keeping the flood from his bed chamber.
Kubali wended his way down the rocks to the lee side of the kopje and crouched miserably in the mud, his tail tucked between his hind legs and his bedraggled mane soaked and drooping. A flash of lightning made him cringe, and he wished it would all go away and let him sleep.
Elanna came to the mouth of the cave and called softly, "Kubali?"
The faint cry reached his ears and he turned to see Elanna beckoning him frantically towards her. Ears flattened, he padded quickly over, paws sending up small splashes of water and mud. Shivering, he trotted in next to her, grateful for the short respite from the driving rain.
"Huh?"
"Hsssh! Quietly. Come in here."
"But what about Gamu?"
"What about him!” She looked at him sympathetically. “Gods! You’re soaked! Stay in here until it quits, at least.”
“Thanks.” He lay down on the rock floor, still shuddering from the cold air, the water forming small puddles around him as his body steamed away the moisture. Clucking reassuringly, she padded over and lay down next to him, draping a forepaw across his broad shoulders and pulling him close, sharing her body heat with him.
"Don't do that! You'll get wet!"
"I don't care. Besides, it's my fault you got soaked."
Kubali had grown used to the feel of her and the scent of her next to him, and he had trouble sleeping alone. He grunted with contentment as her warmth began to penetrate his cold fur. "Thank you, Lannie. You're really very special."
"So are you." She patted his shoulder and rubbed his side. A smile spread across his face.
Kubali closed his eyes and sighed as her warmth sank into his wet fur, seeping in and easing the shivers which caused his tail to tremble with their vehemence. Gradually, the heat of their bodies filled the cave, giving it a cozy feeling and relaxing him. A contented purr rolled out of his chest and Elanna answered it, sliding closer and touching her side to his.
A bolt of lightning struck, and Kubali felt Elanna tense. "Are you afraid?"
"Well, not actually."
Another bolt of lightning hit nearby. She clung to him with her paws. "There wasn't much rain where I came from. I'm not used to it, that's all."
He turned over to face her, stroking her face with his paw and saying, "I'm here, Honey Tree. You're safe. Nothing's going to happen to you."
"You do make me feel safe," she said, kissing him.
He tried to kiss her back, but stopped at the last moment. Something about it did not seem right. Then a flash of lightning lit her face. There was fear in her eyes, and it was not all from the storm. "It's all right. Really it is." He gently reached out with his arms and bore Elanna's face next to his own. He put a soft kiss on her cheek and on her forehead. "If you want it, I do too. If you don't, just say so."